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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fungi and mycology: . Fungi – "Fungi" is plural for "fungus". A fungus is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes unicellular microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as multicellular fungi that produce familiar fruiting forms known as mushrooms.
A hypha (from Ancient Greek ὑφή (huphḗ) 'web'; pl.: hyphae) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. [1] In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium .
The English word fungus is directly adopted from the Latin fungus (mushroom), used in the writings of Horace and Pliny. [10] This in turn is derived from the Greek word sphongos (σφόγγος 'sponge'), which refers to the macroscopic structures and morphology of mushrooms and molds; [11] the root is also used in other languages, such as the German Schwamm ('sponge') and Schimmel ('mold').
Rhizopus is a genus of common saprophytic fungi on plants and specialized parasites on animals. They are found in a wide variety of organic substances, including "mature fruits and vegetables", [2] jellies, syrups, leather, bread, peanuts, and tobacco. They are multicellular.
Carex utriculata with smut fungus affecting individual seeds. The smuts are multicellular fungi characterized by their large numbers of teliospores.The smuts get their name from a Germanic word for 'dirt' because of their dark, thick-walled, and dust-like teliospores.
The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cycle , [ 1 ] while the rest of the life cycle is characterized by vegetative mycelial growth and asexual ...
One of the primary roles of fungi in an ecosystem is to decompose organic compounds. Petroleum products and some pesticides (typical soil contaminants) are organic molecules (i.e., they are built on a carbon structure), and thereby show a potential carbon source for fungi. Hence, fungi have the potential to eradicate such pollutants from their ...
Ascomycetes are 'spore shooters'. They are fungi which produce microscopic spores inside special, elongated cells or sacs, known as 'asci', which give the group its name. Asexual reproduction is the dominant form of propagation in the Ascomycota, and is responsible for the rapid spread of these fungi into new areas.